Dell software today announced the Dell
KACE Family of Appliances delivers systems management tools that
help schools measure and evaluate technology readiness for several
online assessment testing programs to measure student progress toward
college and career readiness. These national programs include Smarter
Balanced, Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College Careers
(PARCC), Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM), National Center and State
Collaborative (NCSC) and Assessment Services Supporting ELLs through
Technology Systems (ASSETS).

As school districts evaluate existing technology readiness for these
online assessment programs and plan for additional technology purchases,
Dell KACE can ensure districts’ devices including PCs, laptops and
tablets, meet these programs’ configuration specifications. As a first
step, national programs such as Smarter Balanced and PARCC, are
providing a “Technology Readiness Tool” to help K-12 schools identify
their current technology infrastructure in preparation for the
transition to online testing. Once the infrastructure has been
identified, Dell KACE can then determine whether or not districts need
to buy new hardware or operating systems to support the testing system.

Technical Requirements Met

In order to administer these new assessment programs, a school district
will need to ensure its computer type, hardware, browser versions,
operating systems, and other equipment are configured correctly in order
to interact with the appropriate assessment systems. Additionally,
districts will need to ensure configuration with Lightweight Directory
Access Protocol (LDAP) authentication and role-based permission for
administrators, allowing them to log in and send configuration items to
managed components; and alerting and remediating disk issues.

Dell KACE not only helps a school ensure its infrastructure satisfies
many of these programs’ requirements today, but also helps districts
once a testing program has been implemented. For example, Dell KACE can
help to lock down systems so that the operating system or applications
cannot be changed by users. Scripting can be used to lock down browser
access and USB ports and software distribution can ensure that systems
have the required browsers and standard applications. Dell KACE also
includes a comprehensive reporting module that lets IT administrators
develop and produce reports in a variety of formats for audit trails.

“In the near future, thousands of school districts will be tasked with
launching these assessment testing programs, and it’s critical that IT
teams ensure their systems are up to the task,” said Steve Plume, vice
president of marketing for Dell KACE. “As IT teams evaluate technology
purchases, we’re excited to be able to provide educational institutions
the ability to meet these requirements while streamlining their systems
management tasks.”

A Good Choice for Educational Organizations

Through its award-winning systems management technology, Dell KACE can
not only help organizations streamline common systems management tasks
such as software inventory and asset management, they can also provide
educational organizations with an easy way to evaluate technology
readiness as they prepare to implement future student assessment
programs. As districts evaluate future technology purchases, Dell
provides a variety of solutions that will further improve teaching and
learning by providing information and tools for teachers and schools and
helping children succeed.

About Dell

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) is committed to helping students develop the
knowledge and skills they need to learn and succeed in an increasingly
digital world and a globally competitive workforce. As a top provider of
technology and services to schools, Dell listens to and works with
students, educators, administrators, parents and community members
around the world to deliver innovative technology and services that give
them the power to do more in and out of the classroom. Learn more about
Dell in Education at www.dell.com.
Follow us on Twitter @DellEDU.

Dell provides system-management solutions for customers of all sizes and
system complexity. The award-winning
Dell KACE family of appliances delivers easy-to-use, comprehensive,
and affordable systems management capabilities for organizations of all
sizes. For more information, visit http://www.dell.com/KACE
or follow the conversation at @DellKACE.

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